Hooper, Theriot Claim Big Ten Honors

Hooper, a 6-2 junior forward from Alliance, Neb., captured her second Big Ten Player-of-the-Week honor of the season after averaging 27.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in Nebraska's wins over Ohio State and Minnesota last week.

Hooper increased her team-leading season averages to 19.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest. She is averaging 24.3 points per game during the Huskers' current four-game Big Ten winning streak.

Hooper, who owns 1,497 points and 700 rebounds in her three-year Nebraska career, won her first Big Ten Player-of-the-Week award this season on Dec. 24. She was a three-time conference player of the week as a sophomore, and the 2012 first-team All-Big Ten selection owns five career awards in less than two full seasons.

Theriot, a 6-0 point guard from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, added the third Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honor of her career. Theriot produced the best week of her young career by averaging 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals in wins over Ohio State and Minnesota.

Theriot hit 75 percent (9-12) of her shots from the field on the week, including a perfect 5-for-5 performance to finish with 11 points against Minnesota. She also tied her career high with seven rebounds against the Gophers and dished out five assists without committing a turnover.

Theriot, who won Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Week honors on Dec. 31 and Jan. 22, has increased her season averages to 5.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. She has started 16 straight games for the Huskers, despite battling a foot injury throughout the year. During Nebraska's current four-game winning streak, Theriot is averaging 8.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists, while producing a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Nebraska returns to Big Ten road action on Thursday night when they travel to Northwestern. The matchup between two of the Big Ten's hottest teams tips off at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston at 7 p.m.